On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan break down why Australia is turning into one of the most ‘indebted countries in the world’ with investigative journalist Royce Kurmelovs as his new book Just Money paints a bleak picture of the influence of debt on Australia’s culture, politics, and society. And as the Victorian Government introduces a new offence that would see metropolitan Melburnians face a $5000 fine for attempting to ‘escape’ the ‘ring of steel’, Professor of Urban Planning Dave Nichols discusses where the city really ends and the regions begin and explore some issues and politics around the boundary. Then, as Prime Minister Morrison performs a “massive backflip” on building a 1-gigawatt gas plant in the Hunter Valley, Giles Parkinson, founder and editor of RenewEconomy, discusses the Federal Government’s announcement that Australia’s two renewable energy agencies ARENA and CERF will be able to invest in low emissions technology and he implications for the future of renewables in Australia.

On this episode of The Grapevine, Sophie McNeill, Australia researcher for Human Rights Watch and Walkley Award winning investigative journalist, discusses the Chinese Government’s long track record of human rights breaches, following a diplomatic standoff which saw the Australian Government aid in the evacuation of the last Australian journalists in China. And following the Victorian Government’s extension of the eviction and rent increase ban until March 2021, Eirene Tsolidis Noyce, Secretary of the Renters and Housing Union, gets on the line with Dylan and Kulja to discuss what renters are entitled to, and what the impact of the pandemic implies for the future of Victorians in vulnerable housing. Then, Professor of Terrestrial Ecology at Deakin University Don Driscoll breaks down the shocking discovery that Australian environmental scientists have been silenced in communicating their scientific discoveries, sometimes stopped from ever reaching the public or policy makers.

On this episode of The Grapevine, as Victoria’s roadmap to ‘COVID normal’ is revealed, Dylan and Kulja get on the line with Independent Federal MP, Helen Haines to break down what’s happening with ‘border bubble’ issue in her seat of Indi, and discuss her push for a Federal Integrity Commission. Then, will Google and Facebook have to pay for news? CEO of the Public interest Journalism Initiative, Anna Draffin breaks down their joint submission of recommendations with the Judith Neilson Institute, to the ACCC’s news media bargaining code draft legislation, attempting to ensure the regulation is balanced and reduce potential exploitation. And, as Australians face a recession, ACOSS Chief Executive Cassandra Goldie discusses new research finding wealth inequality is growing in Australia, which will be exacerbated once the government removes COVID support.

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan explore the elitism of ‘branch stacking’ with Marija Taflaga. The Lecturer at ANU’s School of Political Science and International Relations breaks down the implications of political corruption being symptomatic of a two-party system in Australia’s democracy. Then, Journalist and author of ‘Peace Crimes’, Kieran Finnane, gives a glimpse behind the curtain of national security, and the five-eyes intelligence community alliance through the story of six non-violent activists, The Peace Pilgrims, who were arrested breaching the perimeter of the joint US-Australian defence facility Pine Gap.

On this episode of The Grapevine, journalist Michael Green and Farhad Rafmati, a civil engineer and Iranian refugee currently in detention, give us a glimpse into the experiences of refugees detained in Australia with the Manus Recording Project Collective. Then, Grant Duncan, Associate Professor for the School of People, Environment and Planning at Massey University, breaks down what’s going on in New Zealand as Jacinda Ardern’s government puts in place a new lockdown and its implications for the upcoming election. And, Peter Hurley, Education Policy Fellow of The Mitchell Institute discusses the current state of higher education in Australia following Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan’s announced university system overhaul that would deny students a Commonwealth-supported place or HECS-HELP loan if they failed half of their first eight subjects.

On this episode of The Grapevine, PhD candidate at Melbourne University’s Law School Elizabeth Hicks discusses the implications of her policy brief's findings concerning the implementation of increased executive powers during times of crisis on Australia’s democratic future. Then, the world’s leading historian of fire, Professor Emeritus of Arizona State University, Stephan J Pyne, discusses the impacts of fire on climate throughout human history, which is investigated in the newly released second edition of his book ‘Fire: A Brief History’. And Steven Oliver, presenter and host of documentary 'Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky'; a film in partnership with NITV that will screen at MIFF, tells Dylan and Kulja about exploring the Captain Cook story through First Nations eyes and the music of Indigenous singers and performers.

On this episode of The Grapevine, Dr Jessie Moritz, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, at ANU talks to Dylan and Kulja about her article in The Conversation that called for the Australia to do more to aid her friend and colleague Kylie Moore-Gilbert, whose condition is rapidly deteriorating. The Australian academic was arrested by the Iranian government and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in September 2018 for allegations of spying and has since suffered intolerable conditions without appeal. Then, award winning Australian author Christos Tsiolkas makes his debut on The Grapevine to discuss some of his essays that have recently appeared in the Griffith Review and The Guardian and how COVID has focused his creativity inwards to explore themes of family, identity, class and prejudice.

On this episode of The Grapevine,  Dr Michael Jensen, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Canberra debunks 5G conspiracies and explains their impact on public policy that his article in The Conversation explores in detail. Plus Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning at Melbourne University, Dave Nichols, gets on the line with Kulja and Dylan to breakdown the ‘downside of density’ in metropolitan areas during a pandemic that was illustrated during the recent tower lockdowns. And as the Government sets JobSeeker payments to drop back below the poverty line from August, Executive Director of Per Capita, Emma Dawson, explains the impact of the announced changes to vulnerable Australians at a time when there aren’t enough jobs available in the market to make up the difference.

Kulja Coulston flies solo on this week's episode of The Grapevine. She speaks with Tracee Hutchison, Partnerships & Projects Manager at the Community Broadcasting Foundation, about the Trauma Literacy and Resilience program for community broadcasters in fire-affected communities; a joint project between the CBF and the DART centre for Journalism & Trauma. And Anthea Batsakis Deputy Energy & Environment Editor at the Conversation gets on the line to discuss the lasting impacts of the summer bushfires being tracked via an interactive ‘Flora, Fauna & Fire’ mapping project put together by The Conversation. Then, Peter Hurley, Education Policy Fellow at the Mitchell Institute, breaks down the government’s announced JobTrainer package and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on the tertiary & higher education sectors.

On this episode of The Grapevine, Heidi Lee, project lead for Beyond Zero Emissions’ ‘One Million Jobs Plan’ initiative gets on the line to discuss how job creation and industry modernisation can lead Australia out of a post-covid economy and into a carbon free future. And following an interview by local musician Remi with Flemington Towers resident Najat Mussa, Executive Officer at Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre & The Police Accountability Project, Anthony Kelly, explains the importance of an immediate recall of police officers sent in to enforce the initial ‘hard lockdown’, and a redesign to future emergency covid responses. Then Professor Dennis Altman from La Trobe University calls in to chat with Dylan and Kulja about his piece in The Conversation, ‘Watching Hamilton Today - musical Drama can be radical, just don’t believe all the hype’ about how relevant the production is to an Australian audience in the wake of Black Lives Matter movements worldwide.